After hydrocarbons have been removed from the ground, the fluid stream (e.g., crude oil, natural gas, etc.) is transported from place-to-place via pipelines. It is desirable to know with accuracy the amount of fluid flowing in the stream, and particular accuracy is demanded when the fluid is changing hands, or “custody transfer.” Even where custody transfer is not taking place, however, measurement accuracy is desirable, and in these situations flowmeters may be used.
Ultrasonic flowmeters are one type of flowmeter that may be used to measure the amount of fluid flowing in a pipeline. In an ultrasonic flowmeter, ultrasonic signals are sent back and forth across the fluid stream to be measured, and based on various characteristics of the ultrasonic signals a measure of fluid flow may be calculated. Ultrasonic flowmeters providing improved flow measurement accuracy and fault immunity are desirable.